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DR. DANA'S 
HALF-CENTUEY SERMON, 

DELIVERED 



NOVEMBER 1 9, 1 844. 



A 



DISCOURSE 



PELIVERED IN THE 



FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN NEWBURYPORT, 



ON TUESDAY, NOV. 19, 1844, 



IT BEING THE 



FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AUTHOR^S ORDINATION. 



/ 

BY DANIEL DANA, D. D. 

PASTOR OF THE SECOND FRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 



NE WBURYPORT: 
PUBLISHED BY JOHN G. TILTON 
1845. 



Andrews, Prentiss Studley, Printers, 
JVo. 11 Devonshire Street, Boston. 



Newburyport, Nov. 23, 1844. 

The Rev. Daniel Dana, D, D. 

Dear Sir, — With the full concuiTence, as we believe, of the First Presbyterian Church 
arxd Society, to whose service in the gospel, the energies of your youth were devoted, we 
present you our sincere thanks for the very appropriate and excellent discourse delivered at 
our place of worship, on the semi-centennial anniversary of your ordination. — Believing 
that its usefulness may be still further extended, we would also respectfully request a copy 
for publication. J. F. STEARNS, Pastor of the Church. 



THOMAS M. CLARK, 
PAUL SIMPSON, 



Committee of the Session. 



To the Reverend Pastor, and the Session of the First Presbyterian Church. 

My Dear Brethren, — As your cordial invitation to preach a semi-centennial ser- 
mon in your house of worship, left me no choice, so your present request, though dictated, 
probably, by a too partial judgment, is equally decisive with me. I therefore submit the dis- 
course, with all its imperfections, to your disposal. 

Whether it shall, or shall not be found worthy of the public attention, it will at least sig- 
nify to the beloved people of my former and my present charge, what were the first, the last, 
and the dearest wishes of their affectionate pastor, in their behalf. 

Believe me, my dear brethren, very sincerely yours, 

DANIEL DANA. 

Newburyport, Nov. 25, 1844. 



DISCOURSE 



For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord. — 1 Tliess. iii. 8. 

It is with no ordinary emotions, that I appear in this desk 
to-day. Fifty years since, standing on this spot, I received 
in sacred charge, and with a trembhng heart, a beloved peo- 
ple. Little did I then think that my unworthy life would be 
prolonged to its present date, or that aught but death could 
terminate that endearing connection. Twenty-four years 
since, the event, so unanticipated and so painful, took place. 
I gave you my parting, and, as I supposed, my final benedic- 
tion. Little did I imagine that the scene would ever be 
renewed, or that anything analogous would ever arise. But 
your affectionate invitation, coming to my heart with all the 
force of a command, brings me again before you this day. 

A multitude of thoughts and feelings excited by the occa- 
sion, must be suppressed ; for they are absolutely unuttera- 
ble. It shall be my humble aim to employ the present hour, 
deeply interesting as it is to myself, and to most of my hear- 
ers, in a manner which may be profitable to all. 

Suffer me, then, in opening my heart to those beloved 
friends to whom, in former and more recent time, I have 
preached the gospel — for both classes are now before me — 



6 



suffer me to appropriate the address of the Apostle in the 
text. For, pre-eminent as he was, in every natural, acquired 
and supernatural gift, he only speaks here the language of 
every sincere minister, though of the humblest talents and 
station. All such can truly say to those vt^hom they have 
served in the gospel : Now ive live, if ye stand fast in the 
Lord. 

You see, then, m.y friends, what constitutes the crowning 
joy and felicity of ministers. It is the pious steadfastness 
of their Christian hearers. 

Let us meditate awhile on this momentous truth, and open 
our minds and hearts to its influence. 

What is implied in the pious steadfastness of Christians, 
or, to use the Apostolic phrase, in their standing fast in the 
Lord, it is not difficult to ascertain. 

Doubtless, a first and fundamental point is an enlightened 
and cordial attachment to gospel truth. Christianity, in 
common with every other science, has certain great and lead- 
ing principles which are vital to the system. If these princi- 
ples are understood, the system is understood. If they are 
embraced, the system is embraced. If they are overlooked, 
or denied, or rejected, the same is true of the system itself. 

Farther ; what is holiness, what is genuine virtue, but con- 
formity to truth ? The Saviour prays for his disciples, that 
they may be sanctified by the truth. The Apostle Peter de- 
clares of Christians, that they have purified their souls in 
obeying the ti^iith. No human heart was ever yet purified 
by error. Nor can truth itself purify the heart, any farther 
than it is received, loved and obeyed. 

If Christians, then, would stand fast in the Lord, they 
must have a deep-felt experience of the poicer of divine truth. 
This is the all in all of Hving, practical piety. It is this 
which puts the wide difference, not only between the believer 
and the unbeliever, but between the real Christian and the 



7 



mere formalist. Who lias not observed that the Scriptures of 
God evermore lay the greatest possible stress on faith, as the 
grand source of moral excellence, and the unfaihng deter- 
miner of human character. This, to many, appears wonder- 
ful. And vv^ere faith that cold, heartless thing which it is 
often conceived to be, it would be more than wonderful. It 
would be inexplicable. But the truth is wholly the reverse. 
Faith, genuine faith, is the grand artery of the spiritual sys- 
tem. It is a living, powerful, active principle, laying hold of 
the truths of God's Word, and writing them on the inmost 
heart. It gives them a real existence in the mind. It trans- 
fuses them, so to speak, through all the faculties and sensi- 
bilities of the soul. 

In connection with this, let it be remembered that these 
Scriptural truths are not mere cold abstractions, nor barren 
generalities. In themselves, they are of immense magnitude 
and moment. To immortal beings they are interesting in 
the highest possible degree. In proportion as their influence 
is felt, they transform and modify the whole character. This 
is a point so interesting as to merit a moment's illustration. 

The Scriptures portray the condition of the human family 
as a condition of awful depravity and guilt. Every human 
being is ahenated from God, offensive to his purity, and ob- 
noxious to his endless wrath, with all its insupportable con- 
sequences. And who sees not that these truths, beheved and 
felt, must have a mighty influence on the mind ; banishing 
its sloth, its security, its worldliness ; giving the death-blow to 
its pride, and prostrating its delusive hopes in the dust? 

But our sinful, self-ruined race is not abandoned by its 
God. His own Son has left his heaven ; has on earth shed 
atoning blood, that he might raise us up from the very gates 
of hell, to that heaven from which he descended. And what 
mysteries of love and grace are here; fitted to penetrate 
every human heart to its centre, and to awaken the liveliest 



8 



sensibilities of gratitude, of love, and of everlasting devo- 
.tion. 

But these sensibilities are unknown ; a dying Saviour's 
love leaves the heart still cold and hard, till another miracle of 
mercy is w^rought. The Almighty Spirit descends; opens 
the blinded sinner's eyes ; bursts asunder the strong bars of 
unbelief and sin, and binds him, by everlasting cords of 
grateful love, to his God and Redeemer. He is now a saved 
sinner ; and he is saved by a grace w^hich is purely and 
strictly sovereign. For he resisted all its tender advances ; 
and would have resisted to the last, but for the overcoming 
mercy of Heaven. 

Here, then, are the great and stupendous truths which 
occupy the Scriptures, and which occupy the believer's 
heart. The utterly depraved and helpless condition of man 
— the interpositions of a Divine, atoning Saviour, and of 
an Almighty, renewing Spirit — salvation from deserved and 
endless ruin — salvation by pure and sovereign grace. These 
are the truths which break the slumber of the human intel- 
lect, and which, wherever admitted, go down to the inmost 
depths of the soul. And we repeat it, they mould the char- 
acter. They become powerful principles of action ; and 
'permanent, as well as powerful. Securing a lodgment in the 
hea7i, they can never be lost. We do not wonder that those 
with whom these truths are mere speculations, and who 
never felt their humbling, purifying, exalting influence, can 
easily resign them. They must have been unwelcome guests, 
and, of course, readily parted with. But to the experienced 
Christian, they are dear ; too dear to be resigned. Others 
may doubt, but his faith is too firm to be shaken. Others 
may vacillate, but he stands fast in the Lord. 

For a religion, however, of mere experience, we do not 
contend. The religion which does not sanctify and govern 
the life, must, with all its pretensions, be hollow and false. 



What is a change of heart, if it does not meliorate the ha- 
bitual temper, and whole demeanor? What is repentance, 
if it does not embitter every form of sin, and bind to uni- 
versal holiness ? V/hat is faith, what is gospel hope, if they do 
not shed a purifying, sublimating influence over all the life. 
Why are Christians styled the sons of God, unless they are 
blameless and ha^^mless, shining as lights in the world, 
holding forth the word of life, declaring, by the resistless 
eloquence of example what is that religion which comes from 
heaven, and what are its sublime and unparalleled excellen- 
cies ? 

Standing fast in the Lord, I remark with emphasis, 
implies decision of character. It is readily conceded that all 
the great doctrines of the gospel stand opposed to the pride 
and corruption of the heart. Many of these doctrines are so 
sublime and mysterious that they elude an entire comprehen- 
sion. But what then ? — The heart, once effectually hum- 
bled, can admit the most mortifying truths. It can even 
cherish, with peculiar tenacity and delight, the truths which 
humble it more and more, and at which it once felt only 
disgust. As to the mysteries of religion, the enlightened 
mind receives them on the simple authority of God. And 
what higher authority can it ask ? Thus fortified may it not 
feel itself secure ? May it not courageously resist all opposi- 
tion ? Yes ; the consistent Christian is a man of decision. 
He has entered an infallible school, and has an unwavering 
confidence in his Teacher. He perceives an intrinsic and 
unparalleled beauty in the lessons inculcated. In addition, 
he daily feels their sanctifying power on his heart. He finds 
that the very truths which once offended his pride, are the 
most powerful auxiliaries to all holiness, and all virtue. 
Surely such a man is not to be robbed of his faith by the arts 
of sophistry, nor seduced by the fascinations of error, nor 
turned aside by the shiftings of every fashionable gale. 
2 



10 



A similar decision marks his whole plan and course of 
conduct. Here he is governed, not by the laws of earth, but 
of heaven ; not by the maxims of a heartless morality, or of a 
mere formal piety, but by the unerring, unbending principles 
of the Word of God. Its great and unrepealed law, Be not 
conformed to this world, he conscientiously reduces to prac- 
tice. Not that he affects needless singularities, or an uncom- 
manded strictness. He willingly complies with the estabhshed 
usages of society, v/hen innocent and salutary ; and this, that 
he may oppose them with the better grace and effect, when 
they cross the path of his duty. Withersoever that path 
leads, he resolutely follows ; nor can seductions or dangers, 
enemies or friends, turn him aside. 

Standing fast in the Lord, as it implies a firm adherence 
to gospel truth, involves, too, a courage and zeal in its de- 
fence. " Contending earnestly for the faith, once delivered 
to the saints," was viewed by an Apostle, not as an indica- 
tion of bigotry, but as an essential part of Christian duty. 
So it is esteemed, wherever Christianity is found in a healthful 
and vigorous state. So it is regarded by every enhghtened 
good man. He knows that from the purity of gospel truth, 
is mainly derived its power and efficiency. He knows that 
they are the distinctive doctrines of revelation, which furnish 
the chief support and aliment of vital and practical piety. 
This he has learned from consciousness, from experience, 
from observation, from the history of the church, and from 
the Bible. He therefore holds fast these precious doctrines. 
To resign them, would seem a species of soul-destroying 
folly. Not to defend them against the assaults of enemies, 
would be treachery to the Saviour, and gross unfaithfulness 
to the vital interests of his church. 

In fine ; to stand fast in the Lord, is to persevere in the 
profession and practice of gospel religion, to the very end. 
The religion of thousands has but too accurately resembled 



11 



the prophet's gourd. It has come up in a night, and per- 
ished in a night. How many, who have commenced a 
course of apparent piety, and under promising auspices, have 
soon faltered, and declined to open ungodliness and sin. 
How many, who have shone for years, with even an unnatu- 
ral brilhancy, have closed their career in disastrous darkness. 
Instances like these, while they grieve the thoughtful, and 
gladden the wicked, do but quicken and confirm the genuine, 
determined Christian. They send him to his own heart, to 
his Bible, to his closet, to his Saviour. Self-suspicious, watch- 
ful and prayerful, he holds on his way. He even gathers 
courage and strength from every casual defeat. He feels it 
better to die than to yield. He perseveres to the end ; and 
obtains final victory and triumph over every foe. 

You perceive, then, beloved hearers, what it is to stand 
fast in the Lord. This lovely character belongs to those 
who, from conviction of gospel truth, and vivid experience of 
its purifying power, are inspired with an unwavering decision 
in the cause of God and holiness ; a decision, which, pervad- 
ing their whole system of views, and feelings, and conduct, 
summons all their faculties to the defence of this sacred cause, 
and will not suffer them to abandon the conflict to their latest 
hour. 

I have intimated that to see Christians thus standing fast 
in the Lord, is the cherished wish, and the crowning felicity 
of ministers. The reasons of this you will naturally antici- 
pate. 

You cannot but see that Christians of this character are 
a precious recompense of a ministers cares and toils. To 
labor in a glorious cause ; to serve the best of Masters, is 
indeed a sublime privilege. But to labor in vain, to spend 
our strength for naught, is often sickening to the heart. In 
proportion to our love to our Master, and to the souls com- 
mitted to our care, we shall be pained and grieved to see 



12 



spiritual langor and death prevailing around us. And when 
the scene is changed ; when life invades the regions of death ; 
when the gospel standard gathers around it throngs of immor- 
tal beings ; how delightful to the faithful minister is the spec- 
tacle. Yet even here, trembling is mingled with his joy. He 
knows how little proportioned, often, is the fruit to the blos- 
soms. Perhaps he soon witnesses numbers who apparently 
commenced the Christian course with ardor, falling back into 
the ranks of sin. Others, without so plain an abandonment, 
are yet but too equivocal in their course, and give him alter- 
nate grounds of hope and fear. A third class evidently stand 
fast in the Lord. They are rooted in the faith, and hope, 
and love of the gospel. They grow in grace. They bear 
much precious fruit. These, these are eminently the minis- 
ter's joy and crown ; the rich reward of his soHcitudes, his 
prayers and exertions. They comfort his heart; they 
strengthen his hands ; they lighten his labors : they soothe his 
sorrows. He proceeds with new alacrity and vigor amid the 
toils and discouragements of his office. 

Let it not be thought strange, if I remark, that Christians 
of this stamp contribute much to increase a minister's piety. 
To some it may appear that animated and vigorous piety is 
almost a necessary incident of the ministerial office. It is a 
sad mistake. Alas ! our own experience often attests the 
reverse. We often feel most imperfectly the force of those 
truths, counsels, warnings and consolations which it is our 
duty to address to others. Our very preaching and prayers 
and exhortations, unless they go from warm hearts (and 
whose heart is always warm ?) are but too likely to generate 
in ourselves a spiritual insensibihty. The solemnity and ten- 
derness we often feel in the pulpit, and in the chambers of 
the sick and dying, may prove instruments of self-deception. 
The good opinion of our fellow-Christians, their well-meant 
commendations of our services, their sympathy in our trials, 



13 



and ours in theirs, may often tend to the same dangerous 
point. Few, few indeed, more imperiously need aids to their 
piety, and helps against spiritual decline, and the religion of 
mere form, than ministers. This assistance they must seek 
mainly from God, and his blessed Word. Among human 
instrumentalities, none are more efficient than solid, estab- 
lished, advanced Christians. If it is a minister's duty to 
teach his people, it is both his duty and privilege to learn of 
the best part of them. Our cold hearts often need to be 
warmed by the fire which Heaven has enkindled in some of 
the obscurest of our charge. Their humihty puts our pride 
to the blush. Their spiritual attainments, their faith, their 
love, their self-denial, their zeal, summon us to imitation. 
Their consolations amid poverty, neglect, pain, sickness, 
death, make us feel more deeply the worth of that gospel we 
preach, and engage us to preach it with more feeling, sim- 
plicity and energy. 

And whither shall a minister look for the most active and 
energetic auxiliaries in carrying out the great designs of his 
work ? Who will faithfully co-operate with him in advancing 
the Saviour's cause, in opposing the progress of error and 
ungodliness, in reclaiming sinners from ruin, and elevating 
the piety of the church ? Should he seek such aid of the 
superficial, unstable class of professors, he will go in quest of 
disappointment. But to Christians of deep, decided and emi- 
nent piety, he will not look in vain. Their example will add 
force to all his pious efforts. The sermons he delivers on the 
Sabbath, they will preach over anew, each day of the week, 
with the attractive and commanding eloquence of a holy fife. 
In their pious deportment, in their heavenly spirit, the w^orld 
will see what religion is ; how real, how lovely, how divine. 
With what advantage does that minister declare the everlast- 
ing truths of the gospel, who can point to numbers around 
him as proofs that they are not mere speculations, but of 



14 



mighty efficacy to subdue the corruptions of the heart, and 
inspire the noblest virtues. Who can doubt that, were these 
instances greatly multiplied, the effect would be most salu- 
tary ? Skepticism would retire abashed ; the tongue of infi- 
delity would be silenced ; the religion of Christ would rise 
from its depressions, would reach an elevation hitherto 
unknown, and receive homage from all but the most perverse 
and abandoned. 

There is another view in which eminent and exemplary 
Christians give comfort to a minister's heart. He perceives 
in them an assurance that the Spirit of God has not with- 
drawn. Surely this gracious Spirit is " the Giver of every 
good gift ; " the Author and Bestower of all that is spiritu- 
ally excellent in man. When, therefore. Christians, however 
small their number, shine in the beauty of holiness, and stand 
fast in the doctrines and precepts of their Saviour, the 
Spirit of God is among them. And although his influence 
may be sadly suspended, as it regards the many, it is power- 
fully and richly bestowed on the favored few. Here is con- 
solation for the almost discouraged minister. He looks 
around him, and beholds iniquity abounding, and the love of 
maiiy waxing cold; Zion in tears, and her enemies in 
triumph ; and his heart is ready to sink within him. But let 
him not despond. The Heavenly Dove still hovers over the 
scene. The Holy Spirit still lingers with a favored, precious 
remnant. He will not, he cannot forsake them. Their 
prayers detain him. And who can tell but through the 
efficacy of these prayers, the windows of heaven may be 
opened, and an abundant, overwhelming blessing be poured 
down ? 

But the faithful minister's cares are not confined to the 
present age. He looks forward with deep solicitude to ages 
to come. Soon he will sleep in dust. Soon all around him 
will sleep in dust. And when the present generation of 



15 

Christians shall have retired from the stage, who shall come 
forward to occupy their place ? Shall religion still survive ? 
Shall the cause of God be vigorously supported ? Shall his 
truths and ordinances be maintained in unimpaired purity 
and power ? Or shall religion lie down in the graves of those 
who now occupy the stage ? Shall Christian worship, and 
Christian ordinances, and Christian piety take their flight ? 
Or, the hving reality being gone, shall nothing remain, but 
empty forms, and lifeless observances ? Shall error, and delu- 
sion, and fanaticism, and infidelity, and vice, and crime over- 
spread the region where the Spirit of God once dwelt, and 
the rehgion of his gospel diffused its heavenly influence ? ■ — 
The answer to these thrilling questions must be found in the 
character of professing Christians of the present day. If they 
retain but a slender hold of the vital truths of the gospel ; if 
they feel little, perhaps almost nothing, of their sanctifying 
power ; if indecision, and vacillation, and heartlessness mark 
their character ; if, instead of opposing a dignified resistance 
to the spirit and manners of the world, they suffer themselves 
to be swept away by its fashions, its practices, its folhes, its 
vices — what a legacy do they leave to posterity. How 
surely, as night follows day, will the coming generations reap 
the sad and fatal harvest of their delinquency. But if living- 
Christians are faithful ; if they stand fast in the Lord ; if 
they hold dearer than fife the doctrines of his Word ; if their 
tempers and their lives exhibit the sanctifying power of truth ; 
if their heavenly example is a constant rebuke to the heartless 
morality, or the avowed impiety of an evil world — they will 
prove lights and blessings, not only to the present age, but to 
future ages. They will transmit to their children, and to 
their children's children, the fair, the invaluable inheritance of 
piety. And this beautiful land, in which our Pilgrim Fathers 
sought the pure and free worship of their God and Saviour, 
shall, to the latest period, be bright with heavenly light, and 
rich in all that adorns and blesses a people. 



16 



And where is the minister's hope for the conversion and 
salvation of the world ? Surely, if he is a minister indeed ; 
if his office and his heart are not at variance ; this is the 
object of his dearest desires, of his daily exertions, and 
nightly prayers. And the world will be converted. Eternal 
truth has declared it. Almighty power will accomplish it. 
The reign of idolatry and sin, of superstition and blood, in 
our wretched .globe, shall cease ; and earth shall join with 
heaven in the pure worship of God and the Lamb. But by 
whose instrumentality shall this mighty revolution be effected ? 
Who are the chosen, the honored delegates of Heaven, who 
shall be thus the blessings of earth, and benefactors of their 
species ? They are Christians ; Christians not in mere name, 
but reality ; truth-loving, whole-souled, energetic Christians. 
Professors who have lost their first love, and perhaps their 
first faith, will have no heart for it. Professors who are 
immersed in the world, will have no time for it. Professors 
who feel little of the gospel's power and preciousness, will 
scarcely be at the trouble of sending that gospel abroad. 
Professors who have turned away from the truth, to a philo- 
sophical or fashionable rehgion, will not, probably, send to 
the heathen a better religion than their own. Even the mis- 
sionaries who go from a community overspread with error, 
and with worldliness, will probably convey spiritual death, 
rather than life, to the unevangelized nations which they visit. 

The minister, then, who wishes well to the heathen world, 
must wish to see the Christian world more Christian than it 
ever yet has been. He must wish to see the whole church 
receiving, as it were, a new baptism. He must wish to see 
all Christian professors cHnging to their Saviour's cross ; 
holding his heavenly doctrines dearer than their heart's blood, 
and counting all things but loss, for the excellency of the 
knowledge of Christ. They will then want no persuasions 
to feel, and pray, and act, and contribute for a dying world. 



17 



They will pour out their treasures like water, for its salvation. 
Gold, in their view, will be dross, compared with the pleas- 
ure of spreading the triumphs of their Saviour's love through 
a dying world. And they will send out a pure gospel. They 
will not mock the hunger of the perishing heathen with husks. 
They will send them bread ; the bread of heaven ; bread 
which has sustained their own spiritual life ; bread which who- 
soever eats, shall live for ever. 

Suffer me to add one reason more, why the faithful minis- 
ter delights in the pious steadfastness of his hearers. It 
inspires the soul-thrilling hope of meeting them in heaven. 
But on this subject, I feel myself almost as unable, as I am 
unworthy, to speak. Listen, then, to one who could say with 
a grace, to his beloved converts : " What is our hope, or joy, 
or crown of rejoicing ? Are not even ye, in the presence of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, at his coming ? For ye are our glory 
and joy." — When ministers reflect on the dignity, impor- 
tance and responsibilities of their office, on the one hand, and 
on their own unworthiness and numberless defects on the 
other, they often find it hard to beheve that they can be 
accepted at last. To be welcomed to the Saviour with smiles ; 
to hear his voice of condescending love and approbation, ap- 
pears a blessedness quite overwhelming. Yet in those moments 
when to this blessedness they raise an eye of trembling hope, 
their joy would be incomplete, might they not expect to share 
it with their beloved hearers. Adored be the grace of 
Heaven, this joy may be anticipated ; and will, by every pious 
minister, and every pious hearer, be realized. And if such 
delights attend their communion below ; if, in mingling hearts 
amid the prayers, and praises, and instructions of the earthly 
sanctuary, there is such pure and sublime enjoyment, what 
will be the unknown bliss of the heavenly temple ? There, 
no sin will mar, no anxious fear intrude, no sorrow vex the 
spirit. There, no heart will be cold, no tongue be silent, no 
3 



18 



discordant note be heard, amid myriads and millions of happy 
worshippers. — But here, language fails, and even imagina- 
tion is baffled. Beloved friends; let us believe that these 
visions of bliss are not splendid fictions, but solid realities. 
And believing this, let us pray, O let us pray, that none of 
us all, ministers or hearers, may be found at last debarred^, 
and self-debarred, from that holy and blest assembly. 

In the selection of my theme, and in its discussion, it has 
been my great object to inculcate on Christian professors, a 
decided, ardent and vigorous piety ; a piety which, built on 
gospel principles, shall, like the gospel itself, resist every 
assault, and inflexibly preserve its own heavenly character, 
amid all the mutations of time and fashion, of error and of 
sin. To the other imperious and affecting considerations 
which recommend a piety of this stamp, permit me to add a 
few thoughts derived from the aspects of the present time. 

It would be absurd to deny that this is an age of great and 
invaluable improvements. The human mind, having received 
apparently a new impulse, has plunged deep in the profundi- 
ties of science ; has even explored new territories ; and has 
levied on science the most wonderful contributions to the 
progress of art. Theories unquestioned in former ages, have 
been examined and exploded, and new and improved theo- 
ries built on their ruins. Thousands contend for a similar 
process in religion. But this is a superficial thought. Reli- 
gion is not the offspring of human invention, nor the subject 
of human improvement. She is the daughter of the skies ; 
and her heavenly beauties are only darkened and disfigured, 
when an arrogant philosophy assumes to mend them. Like 
her divine Author, she is the same, yesterday, to-day, and 
for ever. Beware, Christians, lest any man spoil you 
through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of 
men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 



19 



We are annoyed with a system of self-styled rationalism, 
which is in fact a compound of gross and palpable irration- 
alities. Its authors, by the very force of their talents and 
learning, have reached a degree of absurdity which puts com- 
mon ignorance and error to the blush. Denying the Inspira- 
tion of Scripture, they blot out all its essential and dis- 
tinguishing doctrines, substituting in their place their own 
dreams and delusions. The effects of the system, wherever 
it has obtained predominance in Europe, are precisely such 
as might have been anticipated. It has nearly obliterated the 
Sabbath ; it has emptied the Christian temple, and spread 
impiety, licentiousness and vice among all ranks. Ages, 
centuries to come will scarcely suffice to counteract the poison 
it has diffused, and repair the ruin it has accomplished. 

And yet thousands, in this land of the pious pilgrims, are 
yielding themselves to the same fatal delusions. Nor can it 
be sufficiently regretted that thousands of our well-informed 
and respectable citizens, while they shudder at these extrava- 
gancies of error and impiety, stand fearfully exposed to simi- 
lar aberrations. Wherever the proper and plenary inspiration 
of the Bible is denied, or doubted, there an avenue is opened 
for the admission of every species of religious delusion. The 
mistake is in itself simple, and often unalarming. But the 
consequences following on it are disastrous and endless. 
Even among those who admit the inspiration of Scripture, 
discrepancies in religious views are sadly multiplied. But 
how vastly must the evil be increased, where the Heavenly 
Oracle is distrusted, and its responses command no implicit 
assent. Are not men, in such circumstances, thrown back 
on the mere light of nature ; or more properly, on the dark- 
ness, the endless wanderings, and destructive delusions of 
heathenism itself? 

Still other dangers, dangers in some respects more threat- 
ening, beset the American churches at the present day. A 



20 



style of preaching has obtained, which openly opposes almost 
none of the great doctrines of the gospel ; which indeed 
seems to pay homage to them, by adopting much the same 
terms in which these doctrines have formerly been deUvered ; 
and yet, by a kind of under-current, the proper force and 
meaning of these terms are swept entirely away. It would 
be deplorable indeed, if in this way, a revolution should be 
insensibly introduced into our theology, and our churches 
should be led to adopt a new kind of religion, without even 
suspecting it. The design may be to improve religion, to 
strip it of its old-fashioned garb, to adorn it with some new 
accomplishments which shall commend it to the philosophic 
and the fashionable. The effect must be to emasculate its 
vigor ; to deprive it of its power to nourish and console the 
hearts of Christians, and to awaken the consciences of the 
unconverted. 

Never, surely, was there a period when the friends of truth 
were more imperiously summoned to its defence. Nor was 
there ever a period in which unestablished minds had more 
powerful reasons to bring themselves with deep solicitude to 
the inquiry : What is truth 1 

As there may probably be some of this last description in 
the present assembly, I would affectionately present to their 
consideration a single thought. 

Ascertain, my friends, if you can (and the thing is not dif- 
ficult) what are the doctrines which, in every age, both the 
friends and the enemies of the Bible have united to find on 
its pages : the one class viewing them with intense dehght ; 
and the other, with a disgust which has repelled them from 
the Bible itself. Ascertain, too, what are the doctrines which, 
while they have nourished the piety and soothed the sorrows 
of the good man, have filled the wicked with terror, and, at 
the same time, guided the awakened conscience, the disqui- 
eted soul, to peace. Ascertain these points, and you have an 
answer to the question, What is truth ? 



21 



If it can never be enough lamented, that the doctrines of 
God's word should be opposed, corrupted and trampled down, 
there is another fact in our religious community scarcely less 
lamentable, and but for its undeniable frequency, almost sur- 
passing belief. I refer to the case of those numbers who 
regularly hear, and professedly believe the truth; yet with 
perfect apathy and unconcern. In thousands of congrega- 
tions, those doctrines and warnings are uttered in the name 
of the eternal God, which should thrill every conscience, and 
overwhelm the unconverted mind with terror. And who is 
moved ? Who puts the question. What are these things to 
me ? What is the state of my undying soul ? Where am I 
to spend my eternity ? 

If a careless world can slumber over these dread realities, 
can Christians slumber ? Should they not rouse ? Should 
not their heart and flesh tremble for the woes that await the 
wicked ? Should they not entreat them in the bowels of 
Christian compassion, to escape while they may ? Are not 
Christians in this place loudly called, at this period of awful 
slumber, to hft the warning voice — to try, if possible, some 
new and unusual efforts to save their dying fellow-creatures ? 
If they feel, with agonizing conviction, that their best eflforts 
are powerless, should they not send up united, soul-breathed 
supplications to heaven for the interposition of the Holy 
Spirit of God — that Spirit that can revolutionize our whole 
religious state — that Spirit that can breathe hfe into immor- 
tal, but perishing souls ? 

Indulged as I have been, beloved hearers, to accomplish 
half a century of ministerial service, chiefly in this place ; and 
called, this day, to utter some of my last words, I may be 
expected, perhaps, to take, at least, a momentary review of 
the past. 

I was first invited to officiate in this congregation in the 



22 



spring of 1794. Here I found a church which had been 
gathered about a half-century previous, and this, with a pro- 
fessed view to cultivate great purity in the truths and ordi- 
nances of God. Heaven had signally smiled on the design ; 
and under the successive ministrations of two distinguished 
pastors, the church and congregation had attained an unusu- 
ally flourishing state. Recently, indeed, their numbers had 
been somewhat diminished by a secession, which, being not 
small from the first, speedily increased to a large and respect- • 
able Society. My ordination proceeded with a degree of 
harmony, but not to universal satisfaction ; and the worthy 
members who dissented, retired the following year, and 
formed the church and congregation to which I have had the 
honor to minister for the last eighteen years. My own flock, 
however, still remained large, and furnished ample employ- 
ment for all my powers of body and mind. To me, my 
labors, though arduous, were delightful ; and to the honor of 
my heavenly Master, I would acknowledge, that they were 
not wholly unblest. Without any signal revival of rehgion, 
the church received gradual, but not inconsiderable accessions ; 
and these accessions were rather increased in the closing 
years of my connection. When invited to a new and distant 
scene of action,* I felt it a duty to submit the question of 
compliance to the judgment and advice of others. When, in 
obedience to that judgment and advice, I forced myself away 
from a people most tenderly beloved, the scene was heart- 
rending. And such was my prostration of bodily, as well as 
mental power, that, for a time, the hope of future action and 
usefulness almost deserted me. That my heart was not sepa- 
rated, my friends are well aware ; nor has it been a small 
delight, since my return to this place, occasionally to revisit 
their pulpit, and to mingle my sympathies in the scenes of 

* The presidency of Dartmouth College. 



23 



their sickness and sorrow. It has hkewise been a source of 
heart-felt satisfaction, that, with each of the highly esteemed 
ministers who have succeeded me, I have maintained a sin- 
cere and unbroken friendship. I have rejoiced in their pros- 
perity, and have been gratified in lending, as occasion has 
presented, my feeble aid in lightening some portion of their 
labors. 

I am deeply sensible, too, to the privilege of ministering to 
the Christian society, now under my care. Their smaller 
numbers have seemed well to comport with my own increased 
years and infirmities. The minister who duly estimates the 
exigencies of his people, and the responsibilities of his office, 
can never want employment. In my last connection, I have 
found friends firm and faithful ; friends who have aided me 
by their eflforts, and prayed blessings down upon my feeble 
labors. And here, too, adored be the goodness and the grace 
of God, I can speak of the spiritual children he has given me. 
In the season of quickened attention with which this place 
was blest about thirteen years since, a number not small was 
gathered into my church. Nor before that faA^ored period, 
nor since, have my efforts among my present charge seemed 
to be wholly unrewarded. 

But the remembrance of these things is like " the memory 
of joys that are past." These seem too much like tales of 
other times. And I deeply sympathize with my beloved min- 
isterial brethren in the thought, that we can scarcely glance 
at visitations of divine mercy in seasons past, and not be 
pained with a melancholy contrast in the dearth and derelic- 
tion of the present. 

Among the privileges allotted me in this place, I ought to 
mention the solid friendship which I have enjoyed with some 
of its best inhabitants, without regard to Society limits. 
Their conversation has often been instructive to me, their 
kindness animating, their sympathy consoling. Indeed, from 



24 



every description of citizens, I have received all the attention 
and respect I could desire, and far more than I have deserved. 
So multiplied are the tokens of regard and affection which 
have thronged around me of late, that my heart must be com- 
posed of strange materials, if its liveliest sensibilities have not 
been awakened. 

With the ministers of the place generally, I have lived in 
an interchange of kind offices which has been rarely inter- 
rupted ; while from those with whom circumstances have par- 
ticularly connected me, I have derived much aid and support 
in the discharge of my ministerial functions. 

I feel myself impelled to offer a very few remarks on the 
religious and moral character, past and present, of our beloved 
town. 

Newburyport, when my acquaintance with it commenced, 
occupied a commanding position among its sister towns of 
New England. For its piety, its orthodoxy, its regard to the 
Sabbath and religious institutions, and, I may add, for the 
general purity and sobriety of its citizens, it was view^ed by 
thousands, near and remote, as a model. It would be, I fear, 
but to echo the apprehensions of the best among us, to state, 
that from this lofty position, there has been, long since, an 
evident and sad descent. I know that through our country, 
degeneracy has been awfully extensive, and w^ould gladly be- 
lieve that our own degeneracy has but kept pace with the times. 
But what says the Sabbath ? Where is the silence, the serious- 
ness, the almost universal attendance on the house of God, and 
the marked devotion there, which once signalized this sacred 
day ? And where the Sabbath is neglected and profaned, it fol- 
lows of course, that family devotion and family government will 
decline ; children will be ungoverned, and youth unrestrain- 
ed ; the fear of God will vanish, and eternity be forgotten ; 
while vice and licentiousness, in their various and nameless 
forms, will walk abroad in the community, unabashed and 



25 



unchecked. I honestly fear, my beloved hearers, that these 
mournful symptoms are but too visible in our moral condition. 
Every attentive mind perceives them. Every pious heart 
bleeds over them. 

And are there no symptoms of degeneracy in what may be 
termed the religious portion of our favored town ? Have 
Christians at large those discriminating views of gospel truth ; 
have they that vivid experience of its power, that stability in 
its maintenance, and zeal in its defence, which usually accom- 
pany a healthful and flourishing state of religion ? Is the Hne 
of demarcation between the rehgious and the irreligious, clear 
and broad ; or is it so indistinct as, in many cases, to be 
scarcely discernible ? Are professors conscientiously and 
courageously opposing the tide of fashion and worldliness, of 
error and of sin ; or do they too often consent to be borne 
away by the overwhelming current ? 

Yet as I would not wish to darken the picture by gloomy 
exaggeration, so neither would I detain you on a single side 
of it. And blessed be God ! there is a more favorable side. 
There are numbers, among us, even yet, and those numbers 
are not small, who fear God, and keep his commandments ; 
who hallow his Sabbaths, and reverence his sanctuary ; who 
govern their houses, and govern their hearts ; who oppose to 
the aboundings of sin, a dignified and consistent Christian 
example ; who habitually consecrate time, talents, influence, 
substance, prayers, to the cause of reformation, to the salva- 
tion of their country, and the salvation of the world. I will 
confess that amid all the discouragements which have at- 
tended my ministry of late years, one thought has preserved 
me from absolute despondency. I assuredly know that there 
are scattered throughout our town, a goodly number, habitu- 
ally awake to the interests of Zion, and unweariedly pleading 
that cause at the throne of heaven. I believe that their 
prayers enter the ear of the Almighty, and will return, soon or 
4 



26 



late, in blessings on themselves, in blessings on the town, in 
blessings on the church and world. 

Standing in this place to-day, I am forcibly reminded of 
the rapid flight of time, and the ravages of death. Of the 
large society to which, as a minister, I was first united, and 
which then occupied this house, not more than nine or ten 
males, then in adult years, survive to the present time. I 
find myself therefore addressing, not my original friends and 
parishioners, but their children, their grand-children, and 
others who have come into their places. Of the members 
who were active in organizing the church and congregation 
with which I am now connected, not an individual survives. 
Thousands, then, lately composing these two societies (for 
thousands they literally were) have been summoned to their 
final Judge, and to the retributions of eternity. And long 
before a similar period shall have passed away, where will be 
a vast majority of this numerous assembly ? They will be 
summoned to the same glorious Judge, and the same eternal 
retributions. 

But I am unwilling to trespass farther on the patience of 
my respected audience. Let me only add a few closing 
words to the members of those two beloved societies to which 
so great a portion of my ministerial life and labors has been 
devoted. 

And let me call you, my dear friends, to unite with me in 
gratefully adoring the mercy of God, that he should be 
pleased to intrust me with the ministry of the gospel, and 
permit me to execute it during the unusual period of fifty 
years. To preach the unsearchable riches of my Saviour, I 
have truly preferred to the very highest of earthly honors. 
To be continued in the Gospel vineyard, when most of my 
fellow laborers, and nearly all my contemporaries are gone, is 
a great and distinguishing mercy. 



27 



If any good has resulted from my ministry ; if the cause of 
Christ and his truth has, in any degree, been served ; if, in 
my unworthy hands, the gospel has instrumentally saved 
immortal souls from ruin, or quickened and comforted the 
children of God ; ascribe, I entreat you, all the glory, now 
and for ever, to the riches of sovereign and almighty grace. 

Let me entreat you, likewise, to join your prayers with 
mine, that the defects and sins of my life and ministry (ah, 
they are great and numberless) may be graciously pardoned ; 
and that through the precious blood shed for the priesthood, 
as well as for the congregation, my very imperfect and stained 
services may find acceptance, and myself be permitted to 
appear with comfort before my final Judge. The Lord grant 
that we all may find mercy of the Lord in that day ! 

My remaining counsel, and my parting benediction, you 
will receive as breathed from Apostolic lips ; nor will you 
doubt that my inmost heart accords. 

My brethren, dearly beloved and longed-for, my joy and 
crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved." — ^' Ye, 
therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, be- 
ware lest ye also, being led away by the error of the wicked, 
fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace, and in 
the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ." — 

Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good com- 
fort, be of one mind, live in peace ; and the God of love and 
peace shall be with you." 

" Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falhng, and 
to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with 
exceeding joy ; to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory 
and majesty, dominion and power, both now and^ever. 

Amen. 



The following Hymns were sung at the delivery of the 
Sermon. By the request of the Committee, at whose 
invitation it is published, they are inserted here. 

HYMN. 

BY HON. GEORGE LUNT. 

Our fathers' God ! we bless thy name, 
Whose promise stands in words of light, 

That still, from age to age the same. 
Thine own are precious in thy sight. 

Our days, like bubbles down the stream, 

Dissolving float and melt away, 
And life we call a fleeting dream, 

As worldly hopes and thoughts decay. 

But when a servant of thy house 

The nobler work of life has done, 
And round his venerated brows 

The crown appears already won ; 

'Tis then our souls adore the Lord 

For every bright example given, 
To bind us closer to his word, 

And fix our wandering hearts on heaven. 



30 



And thus, to-day, within thy courts. 
Thy people's grateful songs ascend, 

That Israel's mighty God supports, 
Nor leaves liis chosen to the end. 

And spared, through long descending days. 
Be this, thine ancient servant blest, 

To guide our souls to seek thy grace 
And find with liim the promised rest. 



HYMN. 

BY MISS H. F. GOULD. 

Lord, thy countless gifts possessing, 

While for them we render praise, 
For a gi'eat, a signal blessing. 

New, peculiar notes we raise. 
Unto Thee, with spirits fervent, 

Would we lift, in grateful song. 
Him, our friend, thy faithful servant ; 

Thine so early I ours so long I 

Since his life's warm morning glory 

Lit the dewy flower of youth, 
Till his locks are thin and hoary. 

He hath taught tliine holy truth. 
To our fathers he was given 

Fifty years ago to-day ; 
Still he labors here for heaven ; 

But our fathers — where are they ? 



31 



He hath seen our loved ones languish, 

By their dying pillows kneeled, 
Cheered their souls, and soothed our anguish 

When their lips in death were sealed. 
When the spirit passed its portal, 

Where the clay is left behind, 
For its night, the sleeping mortal 

He in hope to earth consigned. 

He hath, from the world's broad highways, 

Soldiers for the cross enrolled — 
From its pois'nous dells and byways, 

Gathered lambs for Jesus' fold. 
He hath guarded, called, and fed them ; 

Faithful Pastor of thy flock I 
He hath kept the path, and led them 

In thy shadow, Living Rock ! 

Babes, that of the sprinkled waters, 

Took from Him the sacred sign, 
Trained to Zion, sons and daughters, 

In his crown as stars will shine. 
Drawn by him to life's pure fountain, 

Where the deathless lily grows. 
They have trod the spicy mountain 

Bright with Sharon's thornless rose. 

As to grass the dews of Hermon, 

Like the shower on Syria's palm, 
Oft from him hath come the sermon, 

Precept clear, and counsel calm — 
Till the soul, revived and nourished. 

Reared its head, and looked above ; 
And to bless the lab'rer, flourished. 

Spreading wide its arms of love. 



32 



Yet, O Lord, he doth not falter, 

In thy service, or thy ways ! 
Grant him still, to light thine altar, 

Strength refreshed, and lengthened days. 
Still thy jewels may he gather; 

And be glory all divine. 
Honor, praise, Eternal Father, 

Son and Holy Spirit, tliine ! 



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